Chapter 29

                                    

                                          
Lucius Malfoy 🐍
We arrived at the gate of my home, Lucy hung over my shoulder, attempting to wipe tears with her sleeve. I held her petite figure as I helped her reach the couch inside. 
I brought a blanket and wrapped it over her shoulders before I called out to a servant to fetch us two glasses of fire whiskey. It felt more fitting for the "occasion". The ugly thing stumbled through the room with a tray and I kicked it away as soon as we got our glasses. 
I watched the girl as she slowly took pins out of her hair, letting her curls fall down her back. Each time a quiet click echoed across the room as she placed them over the glass table. She then took the tumbler in her hand with grace and pressed it against her perfectly shaped red lips, sipping slowly. 
I traced my gaze over her legs and flushed cheeks, thinking deeply. Would I truly cause a mayhem if our... affair came to daylight? Affair... Why did I still call it that? I was no longer married. For years! People were beginning to expect me to marry again. Maybe my redemption arrived at last. This was not an affair as I were not cheating on anyone. Lucy was not a plaything to me, that thought never occurred to me. Truly I wished for a romance to flourish last summer, yet respect for her family was stopping me. Respect I no longer had. But her condition was controversial...
I took a sip of the spirit, feeling it burn down my throat with ease. I licked my lips as I paced slowly in front of the fireplace that stood empty. Being disinherited among wizards like us meant the ultimate banishment. 
A death sentence without dying. 
I could only imagine what she was going through now. I could picture myself mocking her just a few years back with no problem. But times have changed. I had changed.
Redemption.
An idea itched my mind. How to... safe her. An idea so simple I should have thought about it as soon as I knew of her inheritance having chances of going south... 
I took a seat next to her, resting the empty tumbler next to hers. Also empty. 
'You don't need Rosier's fortune. You're valuable without it, Lucy' my voice sounded throaty after the alcohol. I held out my hand, stroking some strands of shining black hair away from her cheek. She lifted up her big sad eyes and sniffed a little, her always glowing golden orbs, now clouded darkly. I hated how her family's decision affected her, switched off the light in her. None should have all this power over someone as strong as Lucy. 
'I need to go back to France and find a job. I uh... I can't afford to finish this internship. And I need to go to the bank, see if I've been cut off already, maybe I can still withdraw the money and...' 
'Lucy, stop! You're not going to France' I rose my voice involuntarily, making her wince. 
'What choice do I have?' She visibly shrank, and I felt anger take control over me. 
'You have me' I drawled out, looking deeply into her eyes. She scoffed, throwing her hands in the air as she got up and paced in front of me, placing each step like a cat in her high heels. 
'You'd own me' she threw me a glance full of sorrow. 
'And then what? You'll get bored of me or become sick of my condition and the gossip. You're... a Malfoy. This is your life' She gathered the room with a gesture. 
'My life is in the shadows' she spat out bitterly and I got up with haste, facing her. She was like a burning tower and I had to contain the flame before it destroys her. I never reacted this way... I never cared, when Narcissa left me I did not fight at all.